Audiobook and podcast service
Audible is an audiobook and podcasting service available through Amazon. It hosts the largest selection of audiobooks, and live or recorded podcasts currently available. The service isn’t free to use, even with a Prime subscription.
Audible provides a diverse selection of choices to customers wanting to listen to their favorite books.
Features
Audible’s primary purpose is to share its massive selection of audiobooks. The largest provider of premium audiobooks, audible has thousands of them available. Among these audiobooks are classics such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and The Outsiders.
Audible also offers original, exclusive content such as podcasts and original audiobooks, including The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. Podcasts are free, just install the app and download whatever episodes strike your fancy.
Intention
Audible is best suited to users who will be getting long-term use out of it. This includes commuters, students, and other individuals who travel regularly. However, you shouldn’t subscribe to the service if you won't benefit from it often enough.
Competition
Recently, there’s been a surge of audiobook services, such as Amazon Kindle and Spotify, are competing with Audible for a popular market. Despite Kindle and Audible being owned by Amazon, they’re still competing for the same market of audiobooks.
Kindle Unlimited is Kindle’s audio and book streaming service. By paying less than $10 per month, you can listen to an unlimited number of audiobooks. The downside of Kindle Unlimited only allows you to hold up to ten titles at once.
Spotify is a music streaming platform with a robust audiobook and podcasting system. Anyone can upload audio to Spotify for others to listen to. This provides a larger potential selection than Audible, with less of a focus on selection. The service is also free to use, though a premium subscription allows unlimited skips and removes ads.
Our take
Audible is a massive online library of audiobooks and podcasts. The service may not be free, but provides the best selection among its competition. If you’re looking for something to listen to on the road, Audible is worth it.
Should you download it?
Yes. Audible towers above its competitors in many ways.
